Maiden Innings

Former cricketer Manoj Prabhakar is making the most of his beauty business

It8217;s something you wouldn8217;t think a former cricketer can be eloquent about. But Manoj Prabhakar speaks about pimples, acne and pigmentation with the same ease as he would if bowling a medium pacer! It8217;s a role, the cricketer says he has slipped into rather effortlessly. 8220;I have after all being doing this for 13 years now,8221; tells Prabhakar who is the managing director of Naturence, a Delhi-based company that8217;s into manufacture of beauty products and cosmetics. In Chandigarh to launch a new range and conduct a beauty workshop, Prabhakar was happy to dish out all you need to know about hair and skin treatments! 8220;I am totally into beauty8230;you have to in order to run a successful beauty enterprise,8221; says the former cricketer who along with wife and cosmetologist Farheen Prabhakar have been training beauticians across the country for many years now. 8220;I don8217;t address them as beauticians but as beauty doctors since they know skin and hair problems inside out,8221; Prabhakar points out. So what got him interested in the business of beauty? To this the former cricketer bowls a straight answer: 8220;It seemed like the right thing to do. With my wife being a well-known and well-travelled cosmetologist, we make a good team.8221;

With an increasing number of cricketers deciding to air out their hidden talent, there8217;s the likes of Sreesanth, Harbhajan and Irfan on a dance reality show on television to others making the most of Bollywood connections remember Ajay Jadeja?, Prabhakar has been a trendsetter of sorts. 8220;As long as a cricketer8217;s focus is his game, there should be no eyebrows raised on his off the field activities,8221; feels the bowler who hasn8217;t really let go of his cricket. 8220;Not many are aware but I am the coach for the Delhi Ranji team and I would like to be given responsibility for much more,8221; the cricketer finally speaks up. But lots changed since his times. 8220;Yes, there8217;s ICL and IPL now. Though both might be at loggerheads, I feel it shouldn8217;t be. The idea behind both is the same, why should the BCCI act tough with ICL players,8221; he makes his opinions loud and clear. For someone who has had enough controversy to deal with, the player8217;s moved on well. 8220;I am straddling life both as a businessman and as a coach. Cricket will always be a part of my life. It8217;s my first love after all,8221; he says before heading off for the beauty workshop to elucidate on ways to deal with hair fall and dark under eye shadows!